Asthma is an illness of the airways, which results in a very irritating and inconvenient symptom of difficulty breathing. This is usually caused by allergies, environmental pollution, smoking, and environmental factors that can be very serious.
A person with mild to severe allergies may suffer from an asthmatic attack. When we are exposed to a particular allergen, the body releases histamines to combat the allergen. The histamines from the body cause a person to start having difficulty breathing.
Environmental pollution causes chronic coughing and wheezing in many people. In addition, daily exposure to irritants such as smoke, pet dander, and dust causes an irritation of the respiratory passages.
A person with asthma has a problem with airways, which are tiny tubes or tissue that carry air through the lungs. When this air passes through the airways, it is brought back into the lungs where it is breathed in. There is a valve that is open or closed.
The cause of asthma is actually unknown, but there are some conditions that cause the individual’s body chemistry to become more acid than normal. As a result, the body must respond by attacking the tissue of the bronchial airways. The symptoms of asthma are swelling of the chest, coughing, tightness of the chest, hacking, and difficulty breathing.
Many times asthma attacks are very short-lived. These episodes occur several times a year and can last for only minutes or several hours. However, if the symptoms of asthma are not attended to, they can progress to a more serious condition called an asthma attack.
When a person has an asthma attack, the respiratory system gets used to the bronchial passages being blocked by secretions. The airways then become irritated, resulting in a deeper inflammation of the tissues. In addition, there is inflammation of the chest wall and the muscles of the respiratory system.
With medical intervention, asthma is easily controlled. Medications that are used to control the asthma attacks and other airway problems include:
Allergic asthma is another condition that is similar to the symptoms of asthma. The major difference between these two conditions is that the symptoms are caused by an allergy rather than by an airway blockage. During an attack, the person may experience a runny nose, coughing, and hacking.
If the affected person is allergic to pollen, it is most likely that he or she will have an allergic asthma attack. Once an allergy triggers an attack, the person will experience difficulty breathing and a runny nose and may experience swelling of the eyelids and mouth.
The best way to avoid having a serious allergy is to see a doctor about this condition as soon as a person suffers a small attack. This is the first step to controlling an asthma attack.
